


call it a peace offering

by lovevalley45



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, bc let's admit nate could have made a better first impression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:41:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22588075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovevalley45/pseuds/lovevalley45
Summary: Yeah, maybe leading with the "we were in love in an alternate timeline" thing is a little too strong.
Relationships: Nate Heywood/Zari Tarazi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35





	call it a peace offering

**Author's Note:**

> ik this isn't gonna happen but like,,,, come on man  
> this might be the first work in the steelstar tag idk ALSo are we going with steelstar  
> posted on my tumblr here: https://lovevalley45.tumblr.com/post/190680501839/untitled-ficlet-94

Nate knocked on the door to Mona’s old room. Maybe he was making a bad decision, but hey, wasn’t like this team was known for making good ones. 

Okay, in retrospect, he hadn’t made the best first impression. Going in with the ‘we knew each other in an alternate timeline’ approach was a little too extreme, even for him. But since Behrad had brought Zari on the ship, she had been avoiding most of them. He was hoping that a peace offering could change that, if he knew what he was doing. 

The door slid open, something that had clearly been Gideon’s interference. Sneaky little AI, he thought, stepping inside. 

Zari was leaning against the desk, arms crossed as she looked at the screen. She had a frown on her face, seeming to barely notice his entrance. 

“Hey. Am I… interrupting something?” he asked finally. He walked over to the desk, seeing what exactly she was looking at. 

The screen was showing news feeds, all about an event in New York City, 2044. It only took one look at the photo to realize what that event was. 

“Your dressy sneaker launch,” he muttered. 

“Yeah,” she said, glancing at him. She hadn’t kicked him out, which was a good sign. It seemed like she was a little too distracted to care that he was in - well, it wasn’t really her room. “I was supposed to be there by now.”

Nate looked back at the screens. “I could probably convince Sara to let us take you there once we’re done with this Encore.”

Zari raised an eyebrow. “Encore…?”

“Not my idea. But, I didn’t just come here for chitchat. I come bearing gifts.”

She sighed, rolling her eyes. “Whatever it is, I’m not interest-“

He held up two paper bags in his hand. “Donuts?”

Glancing from his face to the bags, she took the one dangling in front. “How did you know?” Before he could even start to answer, she frowned again. “Is that because of that ‘knew each other in another life’ bullshit?” There was the expression that made him worry that she was going to throw him out.

With a guilty shrug, he opened the other bag. It was a plain glazed donut, nothing special. “Uh-huh. I might have come on a little too strong with that.”

“Definitely.” Zari took out a donut covered in strawberry frosted and rainbow sprinkles. He could have sworn he saw her crack a smile before she took a bite.

“I just wanted to apologize,” Nate said, breaking off a piece of his donut. “First impressions aren’t really my thing.”

She finished chewing, a tiny bit of frosting clinging to her lip. “I kinda got that. Do you have a napkin?”

“Oh. Yeah.” He pulled a napkin out of his pocket, happy he’d come a little prepared.

“Thanks,” she muttered. After wiping her mouth, Zari turned to him, donut held aloft in her hand. “Look, I’m not interested in being your reincarnated lover. But…” She looked around, like making sure no one but Gideon could hear them. “You’re not a completely bad guy, I guess. How about you stop it with the soulmate stuff or whatever, and we can keep it casual?”

Nate nodded, chewing on his own donut. Some part of him hurt that she didn’t want to be with him but… in this timeline, they’d just met. She had her own life going on, away from time travel and baddies back from the dead. Once he’d swallowed, he said, “Yeah. I can do casual.”

She glanced back at the screen, the news reports still lingering. “So after this Encore thing - ?” With her eyes darting over the headlines talking about her being missing from such a big event, she chewed on her lip. 

“Yes. This shoe thing sounded like a pretty big deal, so I’ll make sure that this-” He gestured to the screen with his donut. “Doesn’t happen.”

Zari turned away from the screen. “It is. I mean this- this is my life. If I’m not there-” She didn’t need to finish for him to get the gist.

He watched her glance back down at her donut, like she’d lost her appetite. It was more than her life, he realized. It was everything. 

“Hey. That’s not happen.” Nate lowered his donut. “I swear.”

She smiled - a real smile, small and just a little crooked. He felt a pang in his heart, missing something that was right in front of him. “Thanks. For the donut and for… making sure I’m there.” 

“Of course.” He resisted the urge to pat her on the shoulder as he stood up from his spot against the desk. Ray had probably noticed he’d disappeared by now, and the last thing he needed was Gideon to snitch on them. 

Before he could get to the door, he felt a hand on his arm, manicured nails against his skin. Had he still been a hemophiliac, Nate would have been afraid of the way she was digging into his arm. 

Zari kissed his cheek, barely a second of her lips against his face. If he’d touched where she’d kissed, he’d sure he would have felt the tiniest amount of sticky lip gloss. It made him wish he didn’t need to go back to the mission, to just stay here and kiss her properly. Fuck, Nate,  _ casual _ . 

He turned to her, a grin on his face. “What was that for?”

“Don’t make it a thing,” she said.

Nate laughed. “I won’t.”

As soon as he left the quarters, he closed his eyes and leaning against the wall outside her room. Shit, he was screwed.

**Author's Note:**

> if u liked this lil fic leave a kudo n maybe a nice comment if u want to brighten my day :D  
> hmu @ my tumblr, same name, if u also love nate and zari or if u just want to talk abt ur love for zari 2.0. i could talk abt either topic for days


End file.
